It's always fun to think about the good times you had when you were young. I remember the first time that I pulled a fire alarm in first grade. I looked at my teacher with a wide eye grin as to suggest, "Did I do that?" Holding my hand, she didn't know what to say or do except smile. I had just come to the United States from Vietnam no less than a week prior. I didn't know any English. And maybe it was my genuine curiosity and naivete that made all of my teachers loved me. She led me outside still holding my hand and we waited until they cleared the alarm. To this day, that incident is perhaps one of the fondest memories of my life. I will never forget Mrs. Engdal.
As I sit here preparing for the last few days before I head out to Iraq, I think about these fond memories and wonder if I would ever get to visit them again. Not to relive them but to engulf in their ambivalence of world. Young and fresh, innocent.
But I now carry an M4 rifle, wearing an armored flak jacket with magazine pouches attached, and several other war gear, and those times just seem so distant.
I just hope I can come to revisit these stories and others.
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4 comments:
good stuff brother, I'm anxious to read what's next. Keep the post coming man-
I had no idea you did that... are there other things you're not telling me about 1st grade?
Yodizzle, your writing background shows!
I'll be checking in on you, let me know if you get there and need some mail--wouldn't want you to be that sad empty-handed guy at mail call! :)
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